James Wan says Aquaman spinoff The Trench was a Black Manta movie

Although Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is on the way, there was another Aquaman movie in development. Back in 2019, Warner Bros. began developing The Trench, an Aquaman spinoff that was said to revolve around the terrifying amphibious creatures who were seen attacking Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard) in the first film. Unfortunately, the studio shelved the spinoff earlier this year. Aquaman director James Wan took to Instagram to share a few photos from the upcoming sequel last week, but he also dropped a little information about the I spinoff when he revealed that it actually would have been a Black Manta movie.

I’ll let you in on a secret, the canceled Trench spin-off movie was really going to be a secret Black Manta movie.

I’ve got to say, ‘m a little disappointed that the Aquaman spinoff isn’t moving forward now that I know Black Manta would have been the focus. That said, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays Black Manta, has teased that the upcoming Aquaman sequel will give his character more time to shine. “I think the script is better than it was in the first one,” Yahya Abdul-Mateen II said. “It gives the actors a lot of good storytelling moments. In Aquaman, we just got a small introduction to Black Manta and to some of his motivations. In this one, I get to exercise and breathe a little bit more. I’m showing some different colors with this one.“

Although the Aquaman spinoff may no longer be on the table, it’s not completely dead. The studio has said that it’s willing to revisit the project down the road if people are still hungry for more from the Aquaman franchise. If Warner Bros. does want to move forward with the Black Manta film, they should probably do it sooner rather than later. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is only getting bigger. The actor recently starred in Nia DaCosta’s Candyman and is also set to star alongside Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix Resurrections as well as Michael Bay’s Ambulance.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 16, 2022.